A productive rant about wedding aesthetics

When people think about the aesthetic of their wedding, they tend to get a little more elaborate in their thinking than they need to. They often confuse words like ‘aesthetic’ and ‘style’ with specific themes – and themed weddings are often quite a tall order! When we talk about the aesthetic of a wedding, we’re usually talking about giving the wedding a consistent style rather than a fit-for-a-hollywood-movie theme. Today, I’m going to take a quick look at how you might choose your particular aesthetic, as well as the ways you can actually apply that aesthetic to your wedding.

Right now, two words that are pretty hot in the wedding industry are vintage and rustic. You may recognize them as terms that people keep saying are “in” when it comes to interior design over the past few years too. And the truth is that vintage and rustic never really go out of fashion. It’s therefore easy to find inspiration for these styles online to influence your wedding aesthetic – check out Pinterest for no end of wedding ideas.

The biggest area that these aesthetics will apply is with the venue. A rustic aesthetic, for example, leans more heavily on the type of venue you’re getting married in than any other detail; barns, woods, farms and tents all make great backdrops for a rustic wedding. Vintage also relies a lot on the sort of venue, and will depend on the era you’ve chosen – an art deco hotel for a 20s wedding or an air-base hangar for a 40s theme.

Picking a colour palette for your wedding is often considered fairly easy, but applying it isn’t always that simple. Most people seem to be content with picking two colours for the palette, using quite specific shades that don’t vary much throughout clothing or decor so they can ensure consistency. But it’s possible to choose something closer to five tones, especially if you want flowers or jewellery to feature heavily. Make sure you research a bit of colour theory to prevent any unpleasant clashes!

You should also keep in mind how many items will need to conform to the palette. You have to be careful about your flowers, stationary, table settings, hair accessories, the bridesmaid’s shoes and the groom’s socks! Even the food can be selected to suit the aesthetic; thankfully wedding cakes are pretty versatile when it comes to colour. And you can find bespoke invitations from a company like Inspired Design Wedding Invitations to suit your exact colour scheme.

Most people will probably pick wedding clothing and the venue before they even start to think about the overall aesthetic. Thankfully, you don’t have to think about aesthetic beforehand; it’s perfectly possible to build an aesthetic around the dress and venue you’ve already chosen. For example, if the location is already quite ornate, then picking a some very modern decor or OTT outfits will probably cause a clashing effect that you’d want to avoid, so having the knowledge of the venue will help you choose wedding decor accordingly.

You should also consider the season; after all, the time of year will impact the overall feel of your day. If it’s snowing, your wedding will have a very different feel compared to a sunny day. Let this inform some of your aesthetic choices – I love a rustic wedding theme that has a true feeling of autumn running through it with golds and oranges, nuts and leaves, natural textures and cosy accessories.

I hope these ideas have helped you to identify the aesthetic of your wedding, and fingers crossed that you didn’t find me too ‘ranty’ today! If you have any other ideas or tips to share about getting a consistent style for your wedding please do share them in the comment below 🙂

Cassie is a freelance writer with a Masters degree in lifestyle
promotion studies. She loves to 'get the look for less' so regularly shares thrifty fashion posts, DIY interior design ideas and low-cost recipes on her blog.

Thanks so much Aufora, you’re too kind! I agree, but at least it’s easy to get a cohesive look these days. When I got married I just chose baby blue as my ‘theme’ and that was as exciting as my wedding decor got, haha!

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